VPNs go a long way to secure your privacy and security. However, you might be wondering how to buy a VPN anonymously, making the entire process private. The truth is that an anonymous VPN purchase is pretty hard, and in some cases, impossible.
When you think about it, every online purchase can be traced to you. By extension, the same applies to the VPN purchase. Fortunately for us, some providers allow you to buy their subscriptions anonymously with methods like crypto, gift cards, and so on.
In this guide, we’ll examine five great methods to pay for a VPN anonymously. We’ll also mention which providers allow for anonymous purchases and list some of the benefits and drawbacks of this way of paying.
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How to Pay for a VPN Anonymously? Our Five Methods
So let’s start by answering your burning question and discussing the five best ways to pay for a VPN anonymously.
1. Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are the most popular anonymous payment vendors. As explained in the Best VPN for Crypto article, cryptocurrencies allow you to pay for the service without the ability to trace the payment back to you.
Users will need to provide an email address to register for a crypto wallet. We prefer using an email address not associated with the VPN for this case, as it ensures total anonymity when purchasing the subscription.
To pay with crypto, ensure you have a wallet set up. You can use any online wallet, as long as it supports the cryptocurrency you want to use. Make sure it’s compatible with popular crypto payment vendors like BitPay or CoinGate.
VPNs frequently use these two. With that in place, when you buy a VPN, select cryptocurrencies and you’ll be transferred to one of the payment vendors mentioned earlier. Now, follow the steps to complete the purchase and you’re all set.
Congrats. You’ve paid for the VPN anonymously and kept your identity obscured. This purchase can’t be tracked by your ISP or any other entities.
2. Google Pay
While Google isn’t exactly known for its privacy, security, or God forbid anonymity, its Google Pay vendor allows you to buy a VPN anonymously. We love using Google Pay because it’s pretty simple. For one, it’s an instant payment method.
This means once you pay for the service, you’re ready to use it in seconds. Another benefit is that the VPN can’t see any payment information except for your email. Again, you can use a random email to set up Google Pay, as long as you have a valid credit card.
From here, it’s smooth sailing. To pay anonymously for a VPN with Google Pay:
- Select the subscription plan from the VPN you want. We recommend NordVPN because it offers plenty of payment methods, including Google Pay.
- Click on “Buy With Google Pay.”
- When the small window Google Pay window opens, select your credit/debit cards and confirm the order.
The VPN will authenticate the payment in seconds and you’ll be ready to use it.
3. Gift Cards
Gift cards are our favorite way of buying a VPN anonymously – bar none! We love them because they’re truly anonymous and there’s no way for the VPN or anyone else to trace the payment back to you. Besides, did you know that gift cards are physical purchases?
You go to Walmart or Staples, find a gift card for the VPN, and buy it with your cash. Do NOT use a credit card for this payment, as it won’t be anonymous. Once the gift card is bought, you’ll use the instructions printed on the gift card box to activate the VPN.
However, there’s one BIG catch – not all VPNs support gift cards! At the moment, NordVPN is the only VPN with this feature. Walmart and Target have plenty of NordVPN gift cards that you can buy, making it truly the best and most flexible VPN in the world.
NordVPN offers gift card purchases in the following countries and retailers:
- The US: Walmart, MicroCenter, Staples, BestBuy, NewEgg, Amazon.
- The UK: Ebuyer, Amazon.
- Canada: BestBuy, Staples, NewEgg, London Drugs, The Source, Amazon.
- Germany: MediaMarkt, Saturn, Euronics, Amazon.
- The Netherlands: Licentie2GO
- Italy, France, Spain, Japan: Amazon
While you can buy a NordVPN gift card online, we strongly recommend going for a physical purchase. This way, you can pay with cash and buy the VPN anonymously.
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4. Prepaid Debit Cards
Prepaid debit cards are great for paying for a VPN anonymously without hassle. VISA, for example, offers prepaid debit cards with money on them that you can spend freely. These cards aren’t associated with your email or identity, which is a great start.
Think of it like a card you got from your dad, for example. When you spend money from that card, the buyer’s name is his, not yours. The same goes with prepaid debit cards, as every purchase with them is associated with the card issuer and not you.
Best of all – 100% of all VPNs in the world support them. In fact, buying a VPN anonymously with prepaid cards couldn’t be simpler. When you’re buying the VPN, select credit/debit cards as your vendor, provide your prepaid debit card’s details, and you’re ready.
If you’re asked for a name, enter a random one, and complete the payment.
5. Virtual Credit Cards
Virtual credit cards are exactly what they sound like. These are non-physical credit cards used for semi-anonymous online purchases. We say semi-anonymous because you don’t need to reveal your credit card details but you’ll need an account to get a virtual credit card.
It’s still safer than using PayPal or Apple Pay, for example. Search online for virtual credit card providers, get one, and then use it like a prepaid debit card or a “normal” credit/debit card. Just confirm the order and your VPN subscription will be active.
Like prepaid debit cards, virtual credit cards are supported by every VPN.
Which VPNs Can Be Bought Anonymously? Our Favorites
Now that we’re over the most important aspect of this guide, let’s see which VPNs complement your privacy through anonymous purchases. We can’t mention every provider but we’ll go over a few of our favorites and examine their anonymous payment methods.
- NordVPN. This is our #1 choice if you want to buy a VPN anonymously. It supports every payment method we mentioned and is the only service with Gift Card support. The VPN offers incredible security, thousands of servers, fast speeds, and streaming/torrenting abilities. Its advanced features like a Double VPN, Meshnet, and NordLynx are excellent, all while its prices are kept at a bare minimum. Check it out!
- ExpressVPN. The VPN also supports every anonymous payment vendor except gift cards. Nonetheless, it’s loaded with servers in 105 countries and backed by a no-log policy. ExpressVPN’s RAM servers add another anonymity layer and its bank-grade encryption with a kill switch prevents IP and DNS leaks. ExpressVPN is a bit expensive but there’s a 49% discount thanks to 3 free months for the annual plan.
- CyberGhost. You can buy this VPN anonymously with crypto and other vendors except for gift cards. This one has streaming and torrenting servers with full Smart DNS support. Even better, the VPN is fast with the WireGuard protocol, offering flexible and affordable plans. The 2-year deal at around $2/mo and a 45-day refund policy is viable for users on a budget. More about budget VPNs here – we have some amazing picks.
- Surfshark VPN. Another privacy-oriented provider with a heap of anonymous payment variants. Its unlimited connections and excellent apps for all platforms are a highlight. Moreover, the VPN is ideal for Netflix and offers MultiHop servers to double your encryption. Surfshark is inexpensive, easy to use, and without logs, so privacy geeks will bask in its excellence daily.
- PIA VPN. The provider is a renowned no-log service that lacks Google Pay and gift cards. You can still buy it with the other 3 vendors and enjoy unlimited connections, port forwarding, obfuscation, and 30,000+ servers worldwide. Check out our PIA review and see why this provider is revered by many users.
Why Should You Buy a VPN Anonymously?
As an “ordinary” person, you shouldn’t worry too much about remaining anonymous during your VPN purchase. However, if you’re an activist or journalist, you don’t want anyone to trace the VPN purchase to you, hence the need to buy a VPN anonymously.
Another case is circumventing firewall restrictions and censorship in countries like Russia or China. You want to remain anonymous all the time in this case to prevent the authorities from targeting you after discovering you’ve bought a VPN service.
The problem with “non-anonymous” payment methods is obvious. They divulge too much information about you. Let’s take PayPal as an example. This payment vendor reveals your phone number, billing address, name, and even email address.
As a result, the payment can easily be traced back to you. The same goes for credit cards. They’re owned by banks that possess your private information far beyond your name and billing address. As explained, this shouldn’t worry you if you’re a “normal” user.
For instance, many of our team members use PayPal to buy VPNs. But we’re not activists or ethical hackers in need of complete identity concealment. We’re VPN reviewers and experts who care about privacy but not on that deep level.
Think about this when you think about how to buy a VPN anonymously. If you’re one of the persons mentioned previously, or, let’s say, a whistleblower, you want to grasp at every privacy straw, including paying for a VPN anonymously the way we explained.
Why You Shouldn’t Buy a VPN Anonymously?
While anonymity and privacy are two obvious benefits, purchasing a VPN this way yields some drawbacks. For example, getting a refund can be problematic. Let’s say you’ve bought the service with a gift card. In most cases, refunds aren’t possible for gift cards.
Some VPN services refuse to issue refunds to crypto users as well, although that’s not the case with the providers mentioned above. It all depends on the anonymous payment method you’ve used, as some allow for refunds, and some aren’t refund-friendly.
One thing to consider is the effort and time needed to pay for a VPN anonymously. If you’re using crypto, you’ll need to deploy a wallet and deposit cryptocurrencies. Gift card users will need to go to a physical store like Walmart and purchase the gift card, which is time-consuming.
Even if you use a prepaid credit card, you’ll need to order it and wait for it to be delivered to you before buying a VPN. The inability to get a refund in some scenarios is a deal breaker for many users, which is why they choose conventional payment methods.
Which VPNs Can’t Be Bought Anonymously?
You can buy anonymously a VPN no matter what. Some providers offer no anonymous payment methods by default. We’re usually talking about so-called corporate VPNs that belong to larger companies. Kaspersky VPN is one of them.
However, we can go with many examples like Malwarebytes VPN, Avast SecureLine VPN, McAfee VPN, and many others. Providers like these usually offer credit/debit cards as primary payment methods, with some including PayPal as an alternative.
This, however, doesn’t mean you can’t pay for a VPN anonymously. Remember that you can use a prepaid debit card, which can substitute your debit card. Even virtual credit cards are viable and will replace “normal” credit cards properly.
The Bottom Line
Paying for a VPN anonymously is simple, as long as you don’t mind going through a few hoops. Crypto seems to be the best option if you already have a wallet that you can use. We love using gift cards too but they’re viable only on NordVPN.
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Virtual and prepaid credit/debit cards are excellent as well, with Google Pay being another beneficial method to buy a VPN anonymously. If you’re an ordinary VPN user who needs it for streaming, torrenting, gaming, or anything “typical”, don’t bother too much.
You can buy a VPN with PayPal or your credit card and call it a day. Whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and hackers likely need every speck of privacy they can get. In that case, it’s worth going a step ahead and ensuring an anonymous VPN payment.
